India, China to help Asia-Pacific region become largest e-commerce market in 2014: report

Bolstered by a growing number of internet users who are logging online to shop, India and China will propel Asia-Pacific region sales to $1.5 trillion this year, making it the largest e-commerce market in the world, according to research firm eMarketer.

The firm projected that rising online and mobile user base in emerging markets will help business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce sales rise 20.1 per cent to $1.5 trillion this year from $1.24 trillion in 2013.

In 2014, consumers in Asia-Pacific will spend more on e-commerce purchases than those in North America, eMarketer said.

"This year alone, B2C e-commerce sales are expected to reach $525.2 billion in the region compared with $482.6 billion in North America," it added.

Growth will come primarily from the rapidly expanding online and mobile user bases in emerging markets, increases in m-commerce sales, advancing shipping and payment options and the push into new international markets by major brands.

"Beginning in 2016, China will overtake the US in spending. Massive gains in China, as well as in India and Indonesia, will push Asia-Pacific's growth ahead," the firm said, adding that Argentina, Mexico, Brazil, Russia, Italy and Canada will also drive e-commerce sales growth worldwide.

"The strength of sales in emerging markets is largely due to their large populations coming online and buying there for the first time," the research firm said.

Asia-Pacific will claim more than 46 per cent of digital buyers worldwide in 2014, though these users will only account for 16.9 per cent of the region's population, it added.

Penetration will also be low in Central and Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Middle East and Africa. For now, North America and Western Europe are the only regions where a majority of residents will make purchases via digital channels, it said.

On growth in China, eMarketer said the world's most populous country will take in over six of every $10 spent on e-commerce in Asia-Pacific in 2014 and nearly three-quarters of regional spending by 2017.

"The country's e-commerce market is second only to the US, but this is not expected to last much longer," it added.